As I sit here and type this I’ve got a little anxiety. See I was expecting to register for JoeCon today. More importantly, I’m trying to register for a Golden Ticket. That’s right I’m pulling a Justin Bell. Don’t get me wrong, there is no offense intended. Oh no, it is actually the opposite, it is admiration for his mutually beneficial plan of essentially having friends sponsor his VIP status. The Golden Ticket is an extra $300, but it promises 3x the exclusives. So in essence what he has done in the past is guarantee 2 lucky people every exclusive they could want for $150 + cost + shipping. People yell scalper! But no, he actually doesn’t benefit financially, he just gets the perks of a VIP package and gets to help 2 friends in the process.

What does this have to do with expectations? Well, now I have two people expecting me to get a Golden Ticket. Actually three if count me. I’m just as excited as them to basically just be able to skip lines. Once you minus the extra exclusives, that’s basically the main benefit. However, Golden Tickets usually sell out in 30-45 minutes. And, it’s not like Matty where you know a specific time to order, registration can go live at any time. The club set the expectation that today was the day. I got all my ducks in row and nothing. At least they said around 11 am that it wasn’t going to be today. What’s even worse than this delay? The con is LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY. I’m not a club basher by any means, but this is ridiculous.

“People yell scalper! But no, he actually doesn’t benefit financially, he just gets the perks of a VIP package and gets to help 2 friends in the process.”

He is benefiting financially, he doesn’t have to pay the $300 but he gets the benefits. That’s $300 in his pocket that normally wouldn’t be there. That’s called “profit” for all you MBAs out there. As a conventioneer, expert on pop culture, and how does one say it… obtainer of rare antiquities… I applaud this maneuver you call the “Justin Bell” for it’s ingenuity but lets call the spade a spade! No shame in our game, right Slick?

That’s where this is different. He doesn’t get $300 in his pocket. There is no net aside from shorter lines and front row seating at the con. He attends a con that he would have attended anyways. The benefits are convenience, not financial. In my case I would not have done a Golden Ticket without people subsidizing it.

A scalper on the other hand tries to sell exclusives for as much net profit as possible. Many dealers at the show were Golden Ticket holders just for exclusives. I never even saw them in a panel. These people are just buying as many exclusives as possible and trying to get the highest margin possible.

This all leads back to the basic concept that once everything is dollars and cents, the decisions you make are no longer based on thinking about others, but only thinking of yourself.

What ever justification helps you sleep at night… Yes, literally he doesn’t put the $300 in his pocket. But, there is net. What he is doing is going through the lines in a paid for preferred manor, buying the limits and then selling them to these “2 lucky people” for the cost PLUS $300. That money goes somewhere and that is profit. And what you get for that money/profit/net is a service/benefit/resource that is exhausted once it’s used. No matter where the money lands or from what righteous point it originates it is still profit (net). For this to truly be a transaction for zero gain “no net” he would have to pay his $300, buy all the limits and “sell them” (or be reimbursed) to these “2 lucky people” for the actual cost of the item plus the fees to get the item and not a penny more. All parties could equally take on the expense of the $300 in this case for your ‘no net’ justification to hold but, when you say “So in essence what he has done in the past is guarantee 2 lucky people every exclusive they could want for $150 + cost + shipping.” that $150 is the profit. It’s by definition and practice a “for profit” transaction.

Don’t get me wrong I see that there is a difference between the Justin Bell and those people that just stand in lines and buy these to sell on the market but that’s merely a difference in scale.

Further more…

You say, “the decisions you make are no longer based on thinking about others, but only thinking of yourself.”

Palpatine says, “Good is a point of view, Anakin”

What about those people that don’t know you or Justin Bell and can’t make it to the Con? Shouldn’t they have a place they can get these? Yes, that’s called a “market place” but that’s another topic I guess.

I guess it’s the difference between a perk and a bonus. A “perk” to being in a certain line of work may be visiting new locales, working from home, or eating in nice restaurants. While all of those things could be considered a “net” it’s the benefits of being in that position. You may not enjoy traveling, you may miss socializing with other employees, you may even not enjoy the the pomp and circumstance of high-end entertaining. Other lines of work receive a bonus. That money doesn’t go anywhere except your bank account. You don’t have to spend it in any specifc way. It is pure profit.